Philadelphia Flyers’ defenseman Cam York just celebrated his 24th birthday and 2025 will be a the the most important year in his young career. York, who’s in the midst of his fifth professional season and third NHL campaign is due a contract extension in the summer and it’s looking to be a rather large deal based on comparable defensemen.
But as he prepares to potentially land in Philly long term, for some sections of the fanbase, the bloom is off the rose when it comes to Cam York. Even though he’s just about 200 games into his career, some very uncharacteristic struggles from York since his return from injury back in November has thrown into question his ability to hold down the fort as the team’s top defenseman.
The much awaited arrival of the more dynamic Emil Andrae (whose ember has since been stomped out by John Tortorella) has given the vision of a new toy to play with and as a pending restricted free agent on a team that desperately needs a big trade to secure a top forward, some have made theorized that he could be the asset involved to make it happen.
In a lot of ways, York’s very similar to his predecessor on the left side of the defense in Ivan Provorov. He’s not the most electric player, his stat sheet isn’t overly noteworthy, but he’s a guy that’s going to give you 25+ minutes of respectable defense every night. But when that’s your M.O. it makes the defensive gaffs a bit more unforgivable, and that’s where we seem to be with York.
So would the Flyers actually trade York? The answer is probably no. Mainly because they don’t trade anybody ever. Secondly because screwing with a cornerstone of the defense isn’t a necessity at the moment. It’s a frivolous move that, even with the presence of Andrae waiting in the wings (particularly since he’s not in the NHL learning how to adapt to the pace) is way too early to make.
Though if they would actually stumble down the path of a major roster shakeup, York presents one of the very few opportunities of a relatively easy trade. He’s a 24-year-old RFA with top pair potential. Let some other team that wants him navigate what will surely be a large extension, and it’s easily their best trade chip to lock down a bonafide number one center,
The problem then becomes finding someone that matches the description. Would York be enough to land Marco Rossi if the Wild would still consider moving him? Maybe. But do you sacrifice the consistency of York for a player that has a much smaller sample size of success? Do you give up York for Dylan Cozens? A struggling player who may not even be a full-time center in the NHL?
Most recently, Elias Pettersson is rumored to be on the trade block, which is much closer to the caliber of player they would need to consider parting ways with York and would be more enticing for Vancouver than a bowl of collective slop the Flyers would offer otherwise.
Right or wrong, Cam York is more than likely going to be a Flyer for the foreseeable future with a massive extension coming his way this summer. But it’s also true that the team has their backs against a wall when it comes to viable trade options on their own roster, and in the off chance Danny Briere would actually wake up and do his job, York does provide one of the few options as a potential trade chip for a top forward.
It all comes down to whether or not you believe Briere is capable of making a blockbuster, franchise altering trade and Tortorella letting Emil Andrae develop into a regular NHLer.
Consider us skeptical.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 